Daily Update — September 1, 2026
US Lithium-ion Battery Imports; Delayed Carbon Market Entry for UK Incinerators; and US College Football Shake-Ups
Today is Tuesday, September 1, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Global Trade
US lithium-ion battery imports rebound in Q2 despite trade friction
US lithium-ion battery imports rebounded in the second quarter, rising 26% from the first quarter to 215,942 metric tons. However, volumes remained well below the second quarter of 2025 and a spike seen in 2024. In the first half of 2026, the US imported 386,965 mt — down 31% year over year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Global Trade Analytics Suite.
The slowdown reflects the impact of new US supply chain restrictions and tariffs that mainly affected shipments from China. US manufacturing capacity is also being directed toward energy storage as demand grows from data centers and other power needs.
Energy Expansion
UK delays carbon market entry for waste incinerators
The UK government has delayed including waste incineration in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, confirming that the sector will not enter the carbon market in 2028 as previously intended. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said uncertainty has made it difficult for local authorities and industry to plan and budget, so a new timeline will be announced later.
Energy and commodity markets will monitor how the delay affects decarbonization investment linked to carbon pricing, offset markets and emerging carbon capture infrastructure across the UK. Meanwhile, the European Commission has proposed gradually adding municipal waste incineration to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, requiring installations to surrender allowances for 25% of verified emissions in 2031 and increasing to full coverage by 2034.
Technology & Innovation
Listen: Kickoff Time: What This Season's College Football Shakeups Mean for Media, Money
The 2026-27 US college football season opens amid major structural changes, including conference realignment and large media rights deals. In this episode of the "MediaTalk" podcast, S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analysts Justin Nielson, Scott Robson and Michael Johnson joined host Mike Reynolds to examine the shifts reshaping the sport's financial and competitive balance.
The discussion covered the expanding College Football Playoff and its implications for viewership, network competition and media value, as well as the growing legal and financial complexity around athlete compensation. It also included championship predictions from the host and analysts.
In case you missed it
- Pakistan will cap refiners' diesel crack spreads on domestic sales to reduce consumer exposure to elevated international prices and refining margins, while adopting Platts benchmarks to determine domestic fuel prices, according to a Ministry of Energy letter sent to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on Aug. 21.
- Indonesia's planned mineral and strategic commodities exchange, set to launch in 2027, could provide an additional platform for nickel price discovery and complement the London Metal Exchange benchmark, which does not directly reflect most Indonesian production, market experts told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
- Silvi Materials is adding rail-served cement terminals in Greenville, South Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio, to expand its eastern US distribution network.
Upcoming events
- Global Reinsurance Market Briefing | Monte Carlo | September 6 (Monaco)
- AI in Banking: From Design to Implementation | September 21 (Webinar)
- European Private Markets Conference 2026 | September 23 (London)
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